In the Solar System there are 173 known natural satellites which orbit within 6 planetary satellite systems. In addition, several other objects are known to have satellites, including three IAU-listed dwarf planets: Pluto, Haumea, and Eris.As of January 2012, over 200 minor-planet moons have been discovered. There are 76 known objects in the asteroid belt with satellites (five with two each), four Jupiter trojans, 39 near-Earth objects (two with two satellites each), and 14 Mars-crossers. There are also 84 known natural satellites of trans-Neptunian objects. Some 150 additional small bodies have been observed within the rings of Saturn, but only a few were tracked long enough to establish orbits. Planets around other stars are likely to have satellites as well, and although numerous candidates have been detected to date, none have yet been confirmed.

Satellite (The Player Piano album)

History

Satellite was originally issued as a limited release, self-titled LP, released by Sunset Alliance Records. The first pressing was limited to 1000 CDs which came with a hand-numbered, dye-cut cardboard insert for the artwork. Shortly after releasing this LP in 2002, the band broke up in order to pursue graduate studies (among other things). This, however, did not hinder the album itself from receiving rave reviews all over the world. In response to this demand, the record was given a name, new artwork, two additional songs, and was reissued by Friend of Mine Records in Japan.

Reception

Satellite and its original release were very well received all over the world.

In the United States, for example, Anthem Magazine wrote: "Who would have thought that five boys from Utah could compose a record such as this. I caught this band by accident recently and was impressed not only by their affinity for melody, but by their attention to detail. The songs on this album rise and fall in such a pleasant manner that when it comes to an end, all I want is more. It has remained in my cd player since I bought it and I don’t see it going anywhere soon. This may be a hard record to find, but it’s worth searching out. The quality of the artwork is enough to merit buying this album." According to Wade Chamberlain at FakeJazz, "I'd seen the Player Piano live several times before hearing their self titled debut, and had been more than impressed with their live shows. I have to admit that I was skeptical that the CD could reproduce the beauty of their live performances. If you looked at my score at the top of the review you'd know that it has. This is a beautiful album." Chamberlain gave the album a 10 out of 12.

Broken China

Overview

The album is a four-part concept album which documents Wright's then-wife Mildred's battle with depression, and is very much like a classic Pink Floyd concept album in its structure and overall feel. Two songs, "Reaching for the Rail" and "Breakthrough" feature Sinéad O'Connor on lead vocals, with Wright singing elsewhere. The album was recorded in Wright's personal studio in France. Broken China was only Wright's second solo record after 1978's Wet Dream and the last to be released before his death in September 2008.

Wright asked fellow Pink Floyd bandmate David Gilmour to perform on the album, to which Gilmour agreed to play one track. However, the approach for the song was changed later on, and Gilmour's performance was not used on the finished album.

On the DVD David Gilmour in Concert, a guest appearance is made by Wright, who sings "Breakthrough" accompanied by David Gilmour and his band.

Windows DreamScene

Windows DreamScene is a utility that allows videos and .gif and other optimized animations to be used as desktop wallpapers. It is one of the Windows Ultimate Extras. Prior to its official announcement, DreamScene was rumored to be in creation under the names Motion Desktop and Borealis. After several months of testing, the final version was released on September 25, 2007.

Rendered content included with DreamScene (such as an animated realization of the Windows Aurora background) was produced by Stardock, while photographic content was provided by the Discovery Channel. Third-party video content in MPEG or WMV format may also be used. In addition, AVI files can be played by altering the file extension.

One of the purported advantages of DreamScene over previous methods of desktop animation is that it makes use of the GPU for display instead of the CPU, leaving the latter free to perform user tasks. To what extent this is achieved is not specified. When a full-screen program is run, such as a game or any window that is maximized, the video will automatically stop since the video will not be seen; this means it uses less GPU and CPU. The video can also be stopped manually. Content encoders need to strive for a balance between compression and file size; decompression requires the CPU, but larger files take up more memory and may cause the disk to be accessed more frequently.

References

External links

Dream pop

Dream pop is a subgenre of alternative rock that developed in the 1980s. The style is typified by a preoccupation with atmosphere and texture as much as melody, often resulting in an ethereal or dream-like sound. The term was coined in the late 1980s by Alex Ayuli to describe the music of his band A.R. Kane and later adopted by music critic Simon Reynolds to describe the nascent shoegazing scene in the UK. In the 1990s, dream pop and shoegazing were regionally dependent and interchangeable terms.

Definition

The AllMusic Guide to Electronica defines dream pop as "an atmospheric subgenre of alternative rock that relies on sonic textures as much as melody". Common characteristics are breathy vocals and use of guitar effects, often producing a "wall of noise". The term is often used, particularly in the United States, to describe bands who were part of the shoegazing scene, and shoegazing is seen as a part of dream pop. The term is thought to relate to the "immersion" in the music experienced by the listener. In the view of Reynolds, dream pop "celebrates rapturous and transcendent experiences, often using druggy and mystical imagery". Dream pop tends to focus on textures and moods rather than propulsive rock riffs. Vocals are generally breathy or sung in a near-whisper, and lyrics are often introspective or existential in nature. Reynolds is generally credited as being the first critic to use the term "dream pop" to describe a genre of music, describing the sound as neo-psychedelic and noting the influence of ethereal bands such as Cocteau Twins.PopMatters also noted the evolutionary line from gothic rock to dream pop.

Dream About You

Hey girl, I've been thinking about youEveryday, all the timeWhen I wake up in the morningWhen I go to bed at nightI'd like to tell you that I love youBut I'm afraid that won't do it rightHey girl, I've been thinking about youEveryday, all the timeWhen I saw you the first timeYou were with some friendsEver since that day I've had you on my mindThen when the night comes and I go to bedI close my eyes and I see you in my headYou take off my clothes and I take off yoursYour dad is downstairs so we close the doorI dream about you - every nightI dream about you - little girlHey little girl, you know I loveeverything about youThe things that you sayThe things that you do